CAT Reading Comprehension > Psychology PYQs

The possibility of a universal grammar.

The language instinct

The inborn language acquisition skills of humans

The Darwinian explanatory paradigm for language

all intelligent primates are gifted with it.

not all intelligent primates are gifted with it

developments in neuroscience have increased its acceptance

it confers an evolutionary reproductive advantage

writes in a different style from Chomsky

draws from behavioural psychology theories

disagrees with Chomsky on certain grounds

draws extensively from Chomsky's propositions

The evolutionary and deterministic framework of Pinker's book makes it racist.

The universality of the "language instinct" counters claims that Pinker's book is racist.

Culture and environment play a key role in shaping our acquisition of language

Anatomical developments like the voice box play a key role in determining language acquisition skills.

the former was performed over a longer time span than the latter.

the former had human subjects, while the latter had cuttlefish.

the former used verbal communication with its subjects, while the latter had to develop a symbolic means of
communication.

the former correlated self-control and future success, while the latter correlated self-control and survival advantages.

raw prawns are released while an Asian shore crab drawer labelled with a triangle is placed in front of the cuttlefish, to be opened after one minute.

raw prawns are released while a live grass shrimp drawer labelled with a square is placed in front of the cuttlefish

Asian shore crabs and raw prawns are simultaneously released while a live grass shrimp drawer labelled with a triangle is placed in front of the cuttlefish, to be opened after one minute.

) live grass shrimp are released while two raw prawn drawers labelled with a circle and a triangle respectively are placed in front of the cuttlefish; the triangle labelled drawer is opened after 50 seconds

Cuttlefish wait longer than 100 seconds for the shrimp drawer to open up.

Cuttlefish are equally fond of live grass shrimp and raw prawn.

Cuttlefish live in big groups that exhibit sociability.

Cuttlefish cannot distinguish between geometrical shapes.

Cuttlefish exert self-control with the help of diversions.

Cuttlefish exercise choice when it comes to food

Intelligence in a species is impossible without sociability.

Like human children, cuttlefish are capable of self-control.

if the alleged aggressive act is not sought to be avoided, it cannot really be considered aggression

Freud's theory of aggression proposes that aggression results from the suppression of aggressive urges.

Freudian theory of suicide as self-inflicted aggression implies that an aggressive act need not be sought to be avoided in order for it to be considered aggression.

a common theory of aggression is that it is the result of an abnormally low neural regulation of testosterone.

Hostile – Instrumental – Hormonal

Extreme – Moderate – Mild

Psychologically – Sociologically – Medically.

Aggressor - Circumstances of aggression – Victim

the nature of aggression can vary depending on several factors, including intent.

several studies indicate that aggression may have roots in the biological condition of humanity.

men in general are believed to be more hormonally driven to exhibit violence than women.

aggression in most societies is kept under control through moderating the death instinct identified by Freud.

In certain kinds of aggression, inflicting pain is not the objective, and is no more than a utilitarian means to achieve another end.

The use of torture to extract information is most effective when the torturer is not emotionally involved in the torture.

Information revealed by subjecting an enemy combatant to torture is not always reliable because of the animosity involved.

When an enemy combatant refuses to reveal information, the use of torture can sometimes involve real feelings of hostility.

In narrow fields of knowledge, a meaningful assessment of expertise has always been possible.

Neuroscience is an advanced field of science because of its connections with other branches of science like oncology and biostatistics.

In the modern age, every field of knowledge is so vast that a meaningful assessment of merit is impossible.

Unlike other fields of knowledge, neuroscience is an exceptionally complex field, making a meaningful assessment of neuroscientists impossible.

If it were proven that teams characterised by diversity end up being conflicted about problems and take a long time to arrive at a solution.

If assessment tests were made more extensive and rigorous.

If a new machine-learning algorithm were developed that proved to be more effective than the random decision forest.

If top-scorers possessed multidisciplinary knowledge that enabled them to look at a problem from several perspectives.

If a large number of decision trees in the ensemble were trained on data derived from easy and hard cases.

If the types of ensembles of decision trees in the forest were doubled.

If a large number of decision trees in the ensemble were trained on data derived from easy cases.

If the types of decision trees in each ensemble of the forest were doubled.

modern problems are multifaceted and require varied skill-sets to be solved.

diversity and context-specificity are important for making major advances in any field.

criteria designed to assess merit are insufficient to test expertise in any field of knowledge.

an ideal team comprises of best individuals from diverse fields of knowledge.

A specialised team of nutritionists from various countries, who are also trained in the machine-learning algorithm of

random decision forest.

A team comprised of nutritionists, psychologists, urban planners and media personnel, who have each performed well in

their respective subject tests.

A team comprised of nutritionists, psychologists, urban planners and media personnel, who have each scored a distinction

in their respective subject tests.

A specialised team of top nutritionists from various countries, who also possess some knowledge of psychology.

both humans and elephants have killed members of each other's species.

elephant herds and their habitat have been systematically destroyed by humans.

there is a purposefulness in human and elephant aggression towards each other.

human-elephant interactions have changed their character over time.

The development of treatment programmes for elephants drawing on insights gained from treating post-traumatic stress disorder in

humans.

Studying the impact of isolating elephant calves on their early brain development, behaviour and aggression.

Increased funding for research into the similarity of humans and other animals drawing on insights gained from human-elephant

similarities.

Funding of more studies to better understand the impact of testosterone on male elephant aggression.

The brain organisation and early development of elephants and humans are extremely similar.

The relationship between elephants and humans has changed from one of coexistence to one of hostility.

Recent elephant behaviour could be understood as a form of species-wide trauma-related response.

Elephants, like the humans they are in conflict with, are profoundly social creatures.

elephants establish extended and enduring familial relationships as do humans.

elephant mothers are evolving newer ways of rearing their calves to adapt to emerging threats.

the elephant response to deeply disturbing experiences is similar to that of humans.

human actions such as poaching and culling have created stressful conditions for elephant communities.

a metaphor for the effect of human activity on elephant communities.

an exaggeration aimed at bolstering Bradshaw's claims.

an accurate description of the condition of elephant herds today.

an ode to the fragility of elephant society today.